ROAD TRIP

My nail sister, Michelle, lives & works in Tacoma, WA. She's driven down to my area a few times in the last couple years, but until now, I hadn't driven up to her. I remedied that this past weekend. Three weeks ago, she came down on a Thursday, we had lunch at Bellagio's (my favorite local pizza joint), and spent an hour talking nails/business in my new studio (which she loves). I was supposed to bring her a vacuum I was getting rid of and some sourdough starter; both of which I forgot.
So, this past Saturday, at 830am, my daughter & I packed up the car with the vacuum, some starter in a small cooler, filled up the gas tank, and off we went. I was slightly concerned that I'd have to stop somewhere on the way home, but still in Washington, and fill my gas tank; I haven't done that in close to 20 years. I also get a little antsy driving to new places (although Google's STREET VIEW comes in handy to reduce that stress a little). We stopped at Toutle River Safety Rest Area for a potty break, and if I was in a more meandering state of mind, we would have hung out there a bit longer.
I turned on the voice directions just outside of Olympia; the last 10 minutes were a bit hairy with all the turns and hills... but at 1140a, we pulled in to Washington State University's campus in Tacoma; her salon is in one of their admin buildings. It's a nice campus, too; easy to navigate, lots of parking, and restaurants onsite. We were greeted by Michelle's daughter, Rain (age 20), who took the vacuum from me, and walked us up to Michelle's office. She has a tiny space (a little smaller than mine), but hers is like a wide hallway (set up with two tall chairs for waiting, a small nail desk, a small desk with for sale items on it near the front, a larger desk with her polishes/gel polishes/etc), and has a "large walk in closet" type space in the back that she uses for storage (behind a curtain in the corner) and pedicures.
The four of us walked over to the The Rock Wood Fired Kitchen for lunch (half a block); I'd never eaten at one, and it was better than expected. Michelle told me all about her meeting with (the famous, at least in our world) Tammy Taylor, Rain filled me in on her college classes/plan and personal life, and we just had a nice visit. It was over too soon, though; maybe next time, our nail sister Elyse can join us (she, too, lives in Tacoma) and I can stay longer.
We left just after 1p, but hit a bit of stopped/very slow traffic getting back out of Tacoma, and again in Olympia. We stopped for another potty break at Maytown Safety Rest Area (where not only did they have free coffee, but they had a little snack booth open!). Amazingly, I *didn't* have to stop for gas; I made it there & back home on 2/3 tank! We stopped at the Burger King drive through in Beaverton on the way home; my daughter wanted some chicken fingers for a snack. We pulled into my driveway at 443p; I had enough time to use the restroom again, get myself some juice, change into my "pajamas" (yoga-style pants, socks, and a hoodie), and turn on the Ducks game.
Now that I've made that drive, I'm totally okay with doing it again!